What Lies Between
by CerealKillerx3
Summary: William and Ronald pair up as partners to investigate a mortal man who managed to bend the laws of nature and cheat death. This investigation becomes more complicated and dangerous then either of them could have ever anticipated.


**Author's Note:** This story is written by Deidaras1Lover, here on fanfiction, and myself. We both hope you enjoy this story~

When William T. Spears went into work that day at the London Shinigami Dispatch Division, he expected it to be the usual stressful day as always. It began normally enough. He strode into work as calm and composed reprimanding some of the Shinigami that were goofing off as he headed to his office. He already felt a headache coming on. He rubbed his temples a little as he walked into his office and immediately sat behind his desk. He cleared his throat and began to go through some of the files and papers that were delivered to him.

One especially thick file caught his attention. He looked at the title of the file, the first name was ordinary enough but the last name brought back some memories to him, if he remembered correctly that is. Apparently some of his fellow division heads finally tracked down the family line that they have been searching for so long. They wanted him to verify it by going to a party the head of the family was holding. That was simple enough but he had to bring along a date as well.

William was confident in his looks enough to know he wouldn't ever have trouble asking a woman out, however, work hadn't allowed him to get out and meet people outside of the office. It was terribly difficult to have a social life. He considered Grell. The male considered himself a woman and he could easily pass for one but the male's over-the-top personality would attract attention, not to mention Grell had little real party experience so it would just be awkward overall.

The head of the division then walked to the doorway of his office and looked over the rest of the Shinigami within his division. All of them were working hard on their cases. His intense green eyes drifted over and locked on the slumping figure of Ronald Knox. Rather petite, especially when next to William himself, he was social, had a lot of party experience, and not to mention he had that cute charm that all the ladies supposedly loved.

Yes... he would work quite nicely.

William then strode down the stairs from his own office to the main office floor and went right to Ronald's desk. "Knox. I have a special assignment for you that you cannot refuse." He felt amusement well up inside him as he pushed up his glasses. He silently admitted this was payback for all of the headaches this male had given him over the years.

Ronald, who had just casually been working on his paperwork turned to look up at his supervisor. William looked unemotional like always but Ronald could always read people and right now the older male looked somewhat amused, which concerned Ronald.

"Special assignment...?" he asked cautiously.

William nodded at him pushing his glasses up again. "Yes, you heard correctly. My fellow division heads had put me in charge of a delicate assignment. I need to attend a formal party to do some investigating, naturally I do not wish to stick out or appear suspicious so I need a date. Unlike you I do not know many women, so instead of making a big deal out of this I decided that you, with your knowledge with parties and supposedly cute charms will be my date. Go see Alan for dress options." With one more push of his glasses he strode through the office to take care of some other matters that needed straightening out.

Ronald listened to him, faltered that really William had just showered him with comments that his mind skipped over the, "date" and "dress" till William was walking away.

"D...Dress?" He quickly exclaimed which earned him some curious stares from around the office. His face went immediately a light shade of pink and he retreated from his desk to get away from his desk and to find Alan.

William heard the male call after him and he smirked lightly to himself before he went back to his office to continue working. Well, he had certainly got his amusement today. He just loved it in his own way.

Alan was working peacefully at his desk, as was his nature. He did look up and giggle to himself in his amusement hearing Ronald. It was hard not to since his desk was near the younger Shinigami's.

Ronald strode up to him and sighed, "I know you overheard that conversation so let's get this over with."

Alan peered up, his green eyes glittering brightly in amusement. "I always wanted to try dressing you up Ronnie, now I finally get the chance." He stood up, pure happiness lighting up his pretty face. He took the male's hand and led him to a back room where all the clothes were kept that they needed in case they needed to do undercover work on Earth like they did now.

The brunette Shinigami had his own section of dresses since he so often used them when doing disguise work. He took out a few that he thought would look nice on Ronald and he handed them over. The dresses were mainly cool colors, which would contrast nicely with the bright colors that made up Ronald's hair and eyes. "Try them on Ronnie~"

Ronald looked at the dresses and then turned to stare at him with a straight face, "Ya got to be kidding me…"

The dresses were gorgeous but he honestly didn't think he would look remotely good in one. Sighing he grabbed one and moved to change into it. He tried it on and looked at himself in the mirror.

Alan just smiled blissfully, a soft laugh escaped him hearing Ronald. "Of course I'm not, these are the ones that would look best on you, I'm only acting under orders and... well... also because I want to." He replied and he watched the male curiously as he examined the dresses. He wondered what it was like for, what he assumed was a straight man, facing the fact he had to wear a dress and be their boss's date.

The dress that Ronald picked out was one of Alan's personal favorites. Majority of the dress was a light pastel green, the top was a richer emerald in color. The material had a nice shine to it that made it look gorgeous and mesmerizing in any light. As with most dresses, it clung tight to the torso and fanned out into a ballroom gown at the bottom, thick straps held it securely in place on the body. The shimmering emerald fabric overlapped the pastel green on the bottom in an elegant fashion to bring the dress together as a pleasing work of art.

Alan never had any doubts in his mind that Ronald would look amazing in this dress.

Ronald hesitated but changed into the dress, turning and looking at himself in the mirror. He looked good and that frightened him. Straightening the fabric he kept staring at himself with a light blush until he finally looked to Alan, "Alright so this dress works but he really should just pick Grell, after all look at my hair."

Alan grinned and he clapped his hands together. "Oh Ronnie! You just look amazing~" he chimed out. The male looked better then he had ever expected himself and he loved it. He heard the male's last remark and he laughed then, "well, there's this wonderful 'new' invention called wigs. That would solve that little problem." He winked to further show that he was teasing.

Ronald rolled his eyes and said, "Well help me one on then... I would hate to be late to my date with Sir William T. Spears."

Alan laughed again and he dug through some chests and finally pulled out a long blond wig. "I'll have to style it real quick when it's on your head but I think it'll look lovely." He smiled and he put a wig cap of sorts upon Ronald's head, brushed and hid all the hair underneath it before he put the wig on then he began humming while he styled it.

Ronald had sat while Alan had been searching through the chest. He bit his lip and closed eyes and just let Alan do his thing while staying silent.

Alan worked for a while and then he pulled away. After doing some brushing, curling and pinning, he had made the wig into a fancy up-do that would most certainly fit the fanciness of the party. "There, I'm done," he smiled then as he admired his work.

Ronald opened his eyes and looked at himself, his blush went a deeper red and he managed to say, "Well I hope I will pass as a female and meet Williams standards."

Alan examined him and he smiled putting a little makeup on the male quickly before nodding. "Oh Ronald, you definitely will. You're so cute that no one would dare question your gender, and I doubt even the stoic William will be able to help himself around you."

Ronald looked to him, "Well thank you but the day he is attracted to anyone will be the day every demon is dead."

Alan couldn't help himself but he laughed. "Yes, I suppose that may be true but you never know I suppose. I mean, who would have guessed that Eric and myself would be an item? So don't lose hope Ronald, there's always the potential for him to be your Prince Charming if you allow it."

Ronalds blush deepened, "Who says I can't be someones prince charming?"

"I'm sure a lot of girls would die for you to be their Prince Charming, I mean honestly... It's just with the pairing of you and William, he'd have to be the Prince out of the two of you because he's much more mature in appearance and his personality is much more proper and dominating then yours. You're just too adorable to be the Prince in that situation Ronnie." Alan smiled even more then loving the blush.

Ronald let out a small sigh, "you have such an overactive imagination." And he stood, looking at himself one last time before speaking, "let's go show Mr. Spears what he's getting into."

Alan frowned briefly but it soon faded into a smile. "It's not my imagination. It's the truth." He protested but then nodded and walked back to the office area. "You can go to William's office, you know where it is." He smiled more.

Ronald then nodded and walked down the hall, messing around some with the feminine shoes that now covered his feet. At least they weren't heels was what he had to keep telling himself. Despite the looks people gave him Ronald finally made it to Williams office and he knocked.

William was finishing up some final paperwork as he waited for Ronald. Before he had settled down he put on a suit that fit the time period and the lavishness of the party. He truly did look like a Prince Charming in his own right, though he was just concerned about the pristine nature of his appearance.

Upon hearing the knock he looked up. "Come in."

Ronald walked in and quickly said, "Look, don't make fun of how I look. Its not that I don't care if you think I look good or not but Alan put a lot of work into this..." his words ending in a quieter sound as he looked at William. William looked like he could be a lord or an earl of some sort, like he was destined to be in those clothes.

William calmly looked up and he was sincerely surprised at what he saw. He could have sworn that this was a woman standing in front of him, and a very pretty one at that. He studied the male for a moment. "I hope it is not an insult to say that you look very beautiful Knox." He replied and took off his glasses calmly and then worked two green contacts in his eyes to normalize the color. "These will work temporarily to substitute for our glasses. I got you a pair as well." He handed him a contact case. "Tell me if you need help putting them in."

Ronald smiled honestly flattered some by the compliment but he didn't let it show too much. Which wasn't hard because his facial expression turned to one of shock from the sight of William putting contacts in, "I am not that comfortable placing something on my eye."

"Hm, fine." William answered. "It helps normalize the color in the cornea so we do not draw as much attention to ourselves." He explained a little and grabbed a few things he needed before he stood up and walked over to the other Shinigami.

Ronald frowned some not wanting them to get caught and not wanting to seem weak, "fine... put them in for me."

Will took the male's glasses off and put them to the side. He took the contact and spread the male's eyelids with his other hand before expertly popping them in. He did the same for the other one and he looked the male over. "Does it feel fine?"

Ronalds heart rate quickened when William was as close as he was and touching his face, especially since he couldn't see anything. Eyes watering some as he tried his best to stay still with everything happening. Once they were finally in and in their proper place, he spoke, "Yes... they feel fine."

William drew away then with and nod. "We should head out then," he replied simply and headed down the steps to where the portals to Earth were. They had no time to waste. Time would, and always would be, of the essence.

Ronald followed as best he could, not used to wearing a dress yet and slightly scared of tripping but he was at Williams side soon enough.

William stepped through the portal and did his best to assist the other male through it. They appeared in an ally somewhat near the manor where the party was being held.

Ronald looked around some and fixed the dress a little. He then carefully moved to hooked elbows with William and asked, "What are our names?"

"I can keep my first name but you'll be posing as my wife. I'll be William Seymour. You can come up with your first name." He replied gazing at him in the corner of his eyes.

"Hmmmm my own name..." He said with a smirk, "I am not sure if it fits me but how about Rebecca...?"

William reached up to push his glasses up his nose because it was habit but there was nothing to push up. He sighed faintly and gazed at him, "Rebecca works just fine for you."

"Alright then let's get this show on a roll." He stated with a smile.

The elder Shinigami nodded then and he hooked his arm around Ronald's then proceeded to the manor. He presented a forged invitation for the both of them to the guard before they stepped into the lavish Victorian manor.

Ronald stayed quiet and followed him, looking around when inside.

William kept Ronald close like he would if he was escorting a real woman. His eyes drifted around studying everything for anything that raised his suspicions.

Ronald looked up at William and said in a whisper, "I am not sure on exactly who or what we are looking for..."

William looked at him; "you know the party scene, notify me if you notice anything especially suspicious. For now I'm trying to look for the head of the party and try to verify their identity." He sighed and glanced around again.

The party oriented Shinigami nodded and began to lead William towards their right, "I saw this super good looking girl go this way. She had expensive jewelry and no one would dare wear anything that expensive unless they were the involved with the person who runs this house." Ronald explained to his counterpart.

William just nodded silently walking right beside Ronald as he allowed the other male to lead the way to the female he described.

Ronald stopped once they could see the head of the party; "there." And he motioned to them as easily as he could without being suspicious.

William peered over to the head of the party and studied him closely wondering if he could spot any identity indicators from this distance. He somewhat doubted he could. "Thank you Rebecca," he murmured and he stepped a bit closer to the lavish looking male.

Ronald stayed close to him, wondering what was so special about this guy. William hadn't given him the file on the case so he just assumed he didn't need to know but it seemed much more important then he first thought.

The male looked perfect and just screamed of confidence with how he held himself, talked, looked... like nothing, not even death could touch him.

William's careful steady gaze studied the male. The more he observed about him, the more his eyes narrowed in both suspicion and annoyance. This had to be the descendant. It had to be. He could sense his soul was different, stronger and more immune then any human hoped theirs could be. He didn't like this at all for it defied all laws of nature.

Ronald watched William getting concerned, "Wi... I mean Honey, is everything alright?"

William nodded slowly at him. "Well, we found him but I highly doubt that everything is alright. His soul is stronger then any other soul I have encountered thus yet in my career... He appears to possibly be immortal now," he murmured quietly to the other male.

Ronald's eyes widened some, "Immortal?" He asked in a quick whisper, and looked back at the male whose eyes were now locked in on them.

William nodded at him trying to be as discrete as possible, "yes, he's immortal... The cause of his immortality is currently unknown of course. That is why we are here obviously, to see why this man has achieved what every mortal pines for." He glanced at the man and locked eyes with him briefly before looking back at Ronald, "we should dance for a bit to ward off suspicion."

Ronald nodded slowly and smiled up at William in the most loving way he could, which wasn't hard to accomplish since he actually meant it. "I have to admit I am used to dancing the male part so forgive me if I am slightly clumsy at first."

Instead of smiling, William's face just softened and he led him off to the dance floor. "I would be worried if you were used to dancing the female role. Just follow me, you will be fine then." He replied taking the male's hands as he got into position before beginning to ballroom dance with the male. He gave Ronald as many physical cues as possible to ensure their dance was smooth and graceful as if they have been doing it for years.

Ronald looked up at him, fighting off a blush by trying to distract his mind on dancing rather than how close he was to William.

William continued to dance and guide the other male through each step and movement of the dance. Even he admitted that it was nice being this close to another person. He missed intimate comfort at times.

Ronald looked around some the male still keeping an eye on them, "is there any chance this guy might be able to tell who we are or just that we aren't supposed to be here...?"

William looked at the male again but then looked right back to Ronald. "Only if you act like we're not supposed to be here. Just act natural Knox and all will go well. I do not know if he has any prior experience with Shinigami so who knows if he's aware of our species."

Ronald only nodded and kept dancing, ensuring William and him seemed like a happy married couple.

William tried his best to seem like a normal loving doting husband to his wife who wanted to show her the best time she had in her life. It was harder then he thought since he had few experiences before being intimate with other people.

They kept dancing for a while till Ronald looked to William, "we can't dance the whole time we are here..." Though he wished they could, this was a dream come true.

The raven-haired male sighed and he stopped dancing when the song was over, "I am aware of that Rebecca." He replied glancing briefly at the man before back to his partner. "Let's grab something to eat then return to observe him some more."

Ronald nodded, "sounds good darling." and he smiled the sweetest smile he was able to.

William nodded and escorted him to where food was laid out for the guests. He gave Ronald a plate and then took one for himself, before putting some food that looked somewhat appealing onto his plate.

Ronald didn't put much on his, holding up to feminine standards.

William put a fair amount on his own plate before leading the way to large table the guests were provided in the dining hall. He placed his plate on the table before pulling Ronald's seat out for him.

Ronald blushed faintly then sat down, "thank you."

William pushed his chair in then, "it's my duty and pleasure darling." He replied simply and then sat down himself. He then began to eat trying to remember all the proper manners that he had learned when he was a child when it came to eating.

Ronald ate carefully, easily being efficient since he was frequent guest at parties.

William hadn't attended a proper party since... well, he couldn't remember, and that fact bothered him a bit. Nevertheless, he blended in quite well as he enjoyed his moderately sized meal.

When people around them left, the younger Shinigami shifted his attention to his superior. "Care to explain this certain mission to me more?"

William sighed, "we are investigating this human to see if he's immortal, and what would cause it if he is... There are so many things we do not know yet."

The junior Shinigami nodded slowly and exhaled in annoyance from the lack of information, then again, William didn't know anymore then he did. "Alright then…"

William then nodded once again. "If anything happens, you follow my orders without question. Understand?" he asked staring the male directly into his eyes.

He looked back and swallowed some, "yes sir."

William stared at him a bit longer, "good. It's for your safety Ronald." He added with a faint sigh.

The cross-dressing Shinigami kept his gaze with Williams till William looked away then he bit his bottom lip some and nodded. The situation seemed to have more to it than William was letting on but he didn't question him.

William just sighed gently and did his best to relax then because they needed to look like they were having fun instead of facing a possible dangerous situation.

Ronald smiled, sensing William was nervous, "Should we go mingle?"

William nodded in response as he stood up and pulled Ronald's chair out for him. "Yes, I suppose we should."

Ronald stood as well and looked to the other male, hooking their arms again. William smiled gently at him as he kept their arms hooked and he led them back to the main ballroom once more. Ronald was looking forward and scanned the room, planning to stay far away from this so-called immortal. The senior Shinigami's skilled eyes scanned the room just wanting to know where the man was at all times so they wouldn't be caught off guard. He always liked to be as prepared as he possibly could.

Ronald brought William up to a group of people and began to make small talk with them. William forced a smile and began to banter with the people. He hated these types of conversations, too one-dimensional for his taste, absolutely no substance to them but he did his best to participate and blend in.

One of the ladies, Coraline, asked, "how long have you two been married?"

William smiled gently, "we have been married for about two years now." He lied with absolute ease.

Ronald blushed when he said that.

"Any children?" Coraline's husband asked softly.

"None yet, he has been busy with work." Ronald answered this time for his "husband."

William side glanced at Ronald and his eyebrow rose when he saw the blush. He then turned to the other couple and nodded once again. "I am a government employee and with all the problems as of late it has been hard to get a family started."

"So supportive of your husbands work, that is a very admirable quality." Coraline said with a smile. Her husband nodded in agreement.

He nodded, "that is one of the reasons why I love her. She's very understanding of any situation that comes our way." He gave Ronald's arm an affectionate squeeze.

Ronald blushed again from the arm squeeze, "you enjoy embarrassing me in public don't you...?" he teased gently.

William smirked faintly to himself but it was barely noticeable to anyone who didn't study his facial features intensely. "Yes, I must admit I do darling," he replied.

Coraline looked to her husband, "Why don't you treat me like that?"

Her husband quickly said, "oh, well here comes Lord Remington."

William froze a bit hearing this, he wasn't mentally prepared to meet the lord face-to-face yet but he quickly and easily relaxed. He peered over his shoulder calmly so he could watch the male come closer.

The lord had a rather intimidating presence, even in the opinion of the experienced Shinigami before him. His status alone presented a powerful male, but he had a large physical form as well. He was as tall, if not taller, then William himself and unlike the thin Shinigami, the lord had broad powerful shoulders. Brown hair, with a strong red undertone, framed his angular face. Fair skin covered his face, the lack of color and blemishes brought out his deep blue eyes even further. Eyes so deep that they threatened to suck in anyone that stared into them too long. Even Will found himself averting his gaze away more then once.

Befitting his status as a lord, Lord Remington wore the most extravagant clothes consisting of a red velvet doublet laced with gold. A brown belt made the garment hold tight to his muscular frame. The belt matched the darker brown fabric that made up his pants. To finish off the outfit he wore sturdy black leather boots and an elegant long blue cape that was fastened to his shoulders with golden clasps.

Ronald tensed some but his face stayed relaxed carefully watching Lord Remington as he spoke at last, "Coraline, Henry, so nice to see you again."

William watched him cautiously. Once it was polite to do so he spoke up and introduced himself and his "wife." He cleared his throat silently, "pleasure to meet you sir, I am William Seymour and this is my wife Rebecca."

"Welcome to my house, are you two new to the area?" The lord inquired, "I have not seen you around."

William nodded, "yes we are actually. We used to live in London originally but I was stationed in Liverpool for a while until I was transferred back here." He answered keeping it as simple as possible

"I see..." He said slowly, "Well I am always happy to meet new people, still surprised I haven't met you yet."

William nodded again in response, his piercing green eyes rested calmly upon the male before him. "I agree, I'm surprised it has taken this long for us to meet face-to-face as well." He let out a soft breath, "I must admit this is a splendid and lavish party that you are hosting."

"Why thank you, my goal was to make all the women who come just shine, and seeing both Coraline and Rebecca I say by job was a success."

He nodded again, "you certainly did accomplish that." He replied and he bowed his head in response.

"My Rebecca you seem quiet."

"Is there something wrong with listening?"

"Not at all, it is just that normally the other party has something to chime in about by now."

William raised his eyebrow staying quiet in the meantime himself.

"That is true but to be frankly honest I was not paying attention." Ronald said with a smile, "You see I am concerned about my husband. He felt sick earlier and that's where my thoughts are."

"Ah I see; that does make sense. He seems fine now though so you don't have anything to worry about."

William nodded, "I'm so lucky to have a wife that worries so much about my well-being." He said with a smile.

Ronald looked to William, the contacts in his eye seemed to be dissolving, "Honey, do you actually feel better...? I mean actually. You like to act all tough after all."

William's own eyes widened a little seeing the contacts disappearing in his partner's eyes. "Well, now that you mention it darling, I do feel a bit nauseous. Do you mind if we stop by the bathroom real quick so I can splash some water on my face?"

"Not at all." Ronald stated and kept looking to William, keeping his eyes away from Lord Remington.

William bowed his head politely to the host and escorted Ronald out of view. He took a deep breath then. "If we stay here it is only going to be minutes until I become practically blind," he felt frustrated since he knew this was going to look suspicious to the host, but they had no choice but to retreat for the time being.

"Well same goes for me so lets get out of here." Ronald said quickly in a hushed sound, not wanting to seem off to other guests.

"Not as bad as me," William insisted and he tugged him outside the manor quickly and headed to the ally way.

The younger Shinigami helped led him towards the alleyway, both to blind to see the person behind them.

William cursed silently to himself feeling chills go up his spine and he hadn't the faintest idea of what was causing it. He just tried his best to try to summon up a portal as quickly as possible. Ronald stayed quiet and let him, trying to remain calm but he could tell there was someone watching them from the shadows. However, interrupting his partner would be a bad idea at the moment.

Ever since that incident when he was a Shinigami in training when the cinematic record attacked him and his glasses were knocked off, he always panicked when he couldn't see. It was because he was scared and flustered that it took him extra time in summoning the portal. Soon enough it was open and he looked in the direction of Ronald's hazy form, "go through." He ordered.

Ronald nodded and did just that, holding Williams hand to make sure he came through as well.

William felt a hand brush against his leg as he stepped through but luckily it was nothing more then that. He panted once through the portal and he shifted his eyes in Ronald's general direction, "I have not felt a adrenaline rush like that in years." He let out a faint strained laugh of relief.

The figure, mulling around in the shadows and studying the two Shinigami, felt amusement touch his lips and a smirk form. "Hm... Interesting," he murmured to himself exhaling softly for only the shadows kept him company now.


End file.
